Many of New Jersey’s prisoners suffered through stifling temperatures this summer, with a third housed in non-air conditioned units that reached as high as 94 degrees, a new report by the state Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson found.

The watchdog agency said 3,500 incarcerated people living in cells without any air conditioning, and 3,000 of the state’s roughly 10,000 corrections officers were assigned to those units. Most of the non-air conditioned beds are housed at three of the state’s nine prisons — East Jersey State Prison in Union County, Bayside State Prison in Cumberland County and Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Burlington County. The latter houses inmates ages 18 to 30.

Corrections Ombudsperson Terry Schuster and Assistant Ombudsperson Kristin King lauded the Department of Corrections for using the resources it had to provide inmates with ice and fans, but called on lawmakers to prioritize investing in the prisons’ heating and cooling systems.

“Because people detained in prison facilities cannot leave of their own accord and have limited control over their movement, possessions and environment, the state assumes a responsibility for their humane treatment, including a responsibility to protect them from potential harms associated with extended exposure to heat and cold,” the report said. “The state also carries a responsibility to protect its correctional police officers from the occupational hazards and safety concerns presented by high heat.”

DOC spokesman Dan Sperrazza said officials increased access to showers, fluids and ice to mitigate the heat and were working cooperatively with the ombudsperson to improve conditions.